Johnny Majors spent the majority of his life motivating college athletes to perform to their peak, so it was no surprise the former football coach was a hit as the keynote speaker at the Boyd banquet held at Bridgestone Learning Center Thursday night.
Majors, who coached 29 years and won 186 games and the 1976 national championship at Pittsburgh, spoke about his experience at the University of Tennessee, growing up in rural Tennessee and several other topics during his speech to a crowd of nearly 200 people.
Majors was introduced by Andy Kelly, a two-year starter at quarterback under Majors in Knoxville. Both player and coach spoke about some of their favorite times on The Hill, with the “Miracle at South Bend,” being the most popular topic.
Kelly recalled the dramatic second-half comeback for the Vols to win 35-34 in a game where the Big Orange trailed 31-14 at halftime.
No words seemed to stand out to Kelly in the locker room, but he vividly recalls the writing Majors did on the blackboard.
“People ask me all the time what coach Majors said during halftime,” said Kelly. “There weren’t any magic words. Coach Majors went over to the blackboard in the stadium that has to be about 100 years old and he writes Tennessee with a 14 beside it. Then he writes Notre Dame with another 14.”
“He then put a 17 below both teams and drew an arrow toward Notre Dame. He says, ‘guys, look what the score would be if we stopped making mistakes.’ We stopped making mistakes and came back to win.”
Kelly spoke briefly, but was quick to recall many speeches coach Majors used to motivate his team. Though a football coach, Kelly thought the best trait of Majors was to make his players better individuals.
“Coach would tie in life lessons to all of his speeches,” said Kelly. “One day he would talk about Genghis Khan. The next day it would be some piece of American history. But he liked using example to tie in his message, which was always about trying to make us better men.”
Majors took the stage and quickly captivated the crowd with his quick wit. Speaking about his hometown of Lynchburg, Majors referenced how he was from a “poke-and-plum town.”
“It was because you would poke your head out the window during the ride and you’d already be plum out of town,” said Majors.
Majors left a legacy in Moore County and quickly established himself as a house-hold name when he began his playing career in Knoxville.
Majors was a two-time Southeastern Conference player of the year and finished second in the Heisman voting his senior year.
Majors began his coaching career at Iowa State in 1968. He took over at Pittsburgh in 1973 and, with the help of future Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett, won the national championship in 1976.
He left Pittsburgh to return to his alma mater in 1977, where he spent 16 years on the sidelines in Knoxville.
Majors won the SEC championship three times and led the Vols to two Sugar Bowl victories.
Perhaps the most memorable team during Majors’ stay in Knoxville was the 1985 team, affectionately nicknamed the “SugarVols.” During the 1985 season, Tennessee upset the No. 1 Auburn Tigers, which featured Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson.
The Vols went on to upset the highly favored Miami Hurricanes in the Sugar Bowl 35-7.
Ray Robinson, a local resident who played on the 1985 team, was in attendance. Also in attendance was former Vol Danny Martin, a WCHS graduate who Majors recalled favorably for his contributions in a 1979 victory over Vanderbilt.
“It was the last play of the season in 1979. Vanderbilt drove the length of the field and was on our door step,” said Majors. “I’m sitting there thinking I may never be able to go back to Middle Tennessee again if we lose. Their quarterback drops back and throws a strike right to a receiver in the endzone. At the last second, Danny comes in and tips the pass away and we win.
“Thankfully for Danny, I could show my face in Middle Tennessee.”
The banquet was set up to support the continued education of students at Boyd Christian School. Majors joined a group of several former Volunteers to speak at the Boyd banquet, including Peyton Manning, Pat Summitt, Phillip Fulmer and Bruce Pearl.